My husband and I lived on the West Coast of Florida for two years in the early 1990’s. Along the Gulf coast side of the north/south Interstate 75 is an old abandoned railroad track which has not been used in many years. In fact, we heard that the tracks were going to be torn up eventually. Can anybody tell me anything about this line such as where it may have originated and what its name was? I could not seem to get any difinitive answers while living there, but assume it was at one time the only way to get all the way down the coast.
Florida had 5000 miles of track in the 1960s, a lot of it owned by the Atlantic Coast Line or the Seaboard Air Line. After they merged in 1967 into Seaboard Coast Line, they started abandoning lines no longer needed. Florida now has less than 3000 miles. There is a lot of abandoned track all of the way from Tallahassee to Everglades City, south of Naples. Can you narrow down the area you are talking about ?
Hi Dale…This is so cool to be communicating this way!! We traveled from Jacksonville over to I75 south, and took the highway all the way down through Sarasota to Fort Myers and Naples. It was along that stretch of the highway that I used to see the railroad, some of it still there, but a lot of it gone just leaving the bed. The tracks that were still there were very rusty with lots of weeds growing up in them, and obviously had not been used in many years. Also, in North Fort Myers there was a railroad bridge across the water that was always up which told me that the railroad was no longer used. Really interesting stuff, and I would love to know more about it. I have remembered and thought about it for many years now.
ACL had a line from Tampa that went through Sarasota, Punta Gorda, Fort Meyers to Naples, and a line from Winter Haven through Arcadia that joined it. SAL also had a line through Arcadia to Fort Meyers that ended at San Carlos.
ACL, SAL and SCL are now CSX, and they have the ACL line from Winter Haven to Arcadia, and south of there the Seminole Gulf Railroad runs the line down through Naples.
Tharmeni lives in that area somewhere and is quite knowledgeable
My wife and I lived in Holiday Florida for 4 years. 1990 to 1994. The line that you are refering to, would that be the one that runs along Alt. US 19 and US 19? Or is it the one that is a little farther east of US 19? Both were Atlantic Coast Line. CSX was operating those lines at one time.
The line is the old ACL from Fort Myers to Tampa. It is now operated by CSX from Tampa to Bradenton (where the Tropicana trains originate) and the tracks are in mainline shape. From Bradenton south to Okomos the line is in rough shape and is operated by Seminole Gulf. From Okomos to Naples it is not operated and rail banked (and identified as a future commuter corridor by the State of Florida). The line is still operated from Fort Myers north about 15 miles by a dinner train and an occasional freight operation.
While some rail has been removed (especially in the Naples area), the r.o.w. is not abandoned.
In the Sarasota/Venice area, there were some stringers that came off the old Seaboard Coast Line/Seaboard Air Line that were used by John Ringling’s circus trains to get in and out of their winter quarters. Some of these lines still have rails in place, but from looking at their condition, the speed limit may be 2 mph.
The active line from Venice through Sarasota to Bradenton is operated by Seminole Gulf RR. CSX only has trackage rights.
There is a yard on the north side of the Manatee River near Bradenton with many vintage passenger cars in outdoor storage. Anyone know who belongs to them?
Hi Tharmeni, and thank you so much for your information. Dale wrote to me also and said that you would definitley know the answers to my questions!! When we were there in the early 90’s, I never saw trains on the tracks, but we did not use 75 every day either, so it is very possible we missed them. It has been years since we have been there, but I do seem to remember that the tracks were in better shape in some places than in others. I am also glad to hear that it is not going to be completey ripped up and abandoned. Sometimes rumors like that get started, and take on a life of their own.
Now my newness and ignorance comes out! What does r.o.w. stand for!!
Hey Cheviot…Thanks so much for the wonderful link and for your message. I am so new at this, but it is so much fun, and I think my Dad would love it too!!
Can you tell me where US 19 is? The line I am referring to runs along the extreme west coast all the way down Interstate 75. The line is actually on the Gulf side of the highway, and is in pretty rough shape. Several other folks have responded and said it is ACL now operated by CSX I think. I am assuming that at one time it was the only passage down that west coast to the resort towns.
Hi Poppa, and thanks so much for the info. I did not know that there was still active line, but we lived in Fort Myers below Sarasota, so we would not have seen any activity. It also never crossed my mind that the circus trains needed access to the railroad. Duh!!! We even went up the the Ringling museum in Sarasota, but I never paid any attention to the railroad that day. I did however notice in my years there that some of the lines were in bad shape, and I guess that led me to believe that they had all been abandoned. As I said before, I never saw any activity on them.
The line is indeed the Seminole Gulf Railway and I rode their dinner train a couple of months back and the track is in bad shape but by no means abandoned.
Hi Eolafan. Thanks so much for responding. Before asking my questions online, I had absolutely no idea that any part of that line was still running. As I said in other replies, we lived in Fort Myers in the early 90’s, but never saw any activity on that railroad. Everyone I asked simply said it was old and abandoned!! My husband and I want to go back to visit, so I will have to further explore that old line and ride the dinner train.
Poppa Zit - On about two miles of the line just north of the Venice (restored) depot the rail has been removed. Supposedly, it is not abandoned, just “banked”. At any rate, no train can travcel from Fort Myers to Sarasota on this line at present.
“Fascinated” - I spotted a Seminole Gulf freight train on this line just east of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport about a week ago. One engine, seven cars rumbling northbound at about 10 mph.
Hi Dale. Thank you for the link. Part of this mystery is coming back to me now. I do remember that a murder mystery and dinner train ride came into being while we were living there, but I did not put two and two together and figure out where it was running!! Also, the history of the Southwest Florida Railroads on that site is fascinating, and just what I needed to further understand the whole picture.
Thanks so much. this is great!! I will stop into the Depot Diner.
Hi Tharmeni. I was just given a great link by Nanaimo73 to the Seminole Gulf Railway website, and it is very informative. There is a brief history of the Southwest Florida railroads. I somehow missed all the action while I was there, and just assumed that I was hearing correctly that the railroad had not been used in years!
Also it is interesting to see you write that trains cannot travel from Fort Myers to Sarasota on that line. I cannot remember where exactly I saw that the tracks had been removed, but it was in that general area. I am glad to know though that it has not been completely abandoned.
http://www.trainsusa.net/states/florida1/florida.htm I found this link too Dale. For me it is good. I cannot believe I didn’t use my head and google this stuff by myself!! Oh well…that’s what friends are for!